"White Christmas in April" Book Released For 25^th Anniversary of Collapse of South Vietnam

February 9, 2000

ROCK HILL — When singer Bing Crosby’s "White Christmas" rang across Radio Saigon’s airwaves, Americans braced themselves for the largest evacuation since Dunkirk.

April 30, 1975, marks the 25^th anniversary of America’s final exit from a nation and an era — Vietnam. American forces in South Vietnam had designated Crosby’s song as the signal for all personnel to get out of the country.

Those on the scene for "Operation Frequent Wind" knew months ahead of time that a retreat was inevitable, according to a new book, "White Christmas in April, The Collapse of South Vietnam, 1975, " published by two Winthrop University professors.

Authors Edward Lee and Toby Haynsworth give 27 viewpoints of Americans and Vietnamese living in or working with South Vietnam. The soldiers, journalists and citizens share accounts of courage, confusion and bitterness as our ally collapsed.

One of the most revealing interviews is with Alexander Haig, President Richard Nixon’s Chief of Staff and then NATO Commander in 1975. He suggests the fall of South Vietnam was anticlimactic, adding that the die had been cast two years earlier when Watergate crippled Nixon.

Haig had urged Nixon in 1969 to seize the opportunity to bring the war to a conclusion when American planes were shot at in international waters in Southeast Asia.

"Nixon rejected my suggestion at the last minute. There was a split view at the National Security Council on it. Nixon told me — he took it to his grave — that this was the most serious mistake of his presidency, not Watergate," Haig said. "We should have moved on it quickly and decisively, because the source of the problem was in Moscow and not simply in Hanoi."

To the enemy, America’s pullout seemed orchestrated from the top by a hidden deal.

"In my opinion, there was a kind of ‘gentleman’s agreement’ to allow the evacuation to go forward," said Tran Trong Khanh, an ex-Vietcong officer. "We stopped fighting and shelling for a few hours. We didn’t shoot much. Then you were gone."

Others remember the evacuation — by helicopter, plane and boat - as a harrowing experience.

Sgt. Terry Bennington was among the 11 marines left behind on the embassy roof, before a delayed helicopter returned to retrieve them. "We stayed up there, and were as quiet as we could be. We watched the firefights going on. We could see the North Vietnamese Army," he said. "If we hadn’t seen the chopper when we did, if it had waited fifteen minutes, we’d have probably climbed down the rocket screen by that time because we all pretty convinced we could make it to the South China Sea."

When South Vietnamese Major Bung Ly heard on the radio that his president had surrendered, he planned an escape. With his wife and five children onboard, he flew a small Cessna from Con Son Island to the USS Midway carrier.

He dropped a note to sailors to "Please move the helicopters" from the deck. The sailors shoved them into the sea and applauded wildly as Ly made a daring landing.

"The family and I were nervous and everything," he said. "I came in once, and thought I’d do it on the second one. The second time I came in, I just shut off the whole engine."

"White Christmas in April," written for students, veterans and scholars, serves as a good source for those wanting to research one of the United State’s most tragic moments. It includes photographs, documents, a glossary and chronology.

Lee is an assistant professor of history at Winthrop University. Haynsworth, who was on board the US Midway about 70 miles off the South Vietnamese coast during the evacuation, is a retired Navy Supply Corps officer and a retired business professor at Winthrop.

"White Christmas in April" was published by Peter Lang Publishing Co. ($27.95) To purchase, call 1-800-770-5264 or contact The Bookworm, Barnes and Noble, Borders Books & Records or Amazon.com Books.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Enclosed is a copy of "White Christmas in April" for review. If a member of your staff can’t review, you might ask a Vietnam veteran or local teacher to write up an article. Lee can be reached at 803-323-4844 or 803-684-6615; Haynsworth at 803-366-6009. Thanks for your consideration.